Gold has been used as a form of currency and store of value since long before paper currency was invented and adopted across the world. Today this precious metal divides opinion among investors like few other asset classes. At Rathbones, we prefer to simply examine the evidence and assess its properties.
It is well known that Britain led the Industrial Revolution. Less appreciated is the fact that it was also at the vanguard of what has been called the “de-industrial revolution”.
A small giveaway budget offset by a grave deterioration in the outlook for UK growth and the government’s tax receipts shouldn’t move the dial for investors.
An executive summary of the full inflation report for anyone who would like a brief overview of the key points.
What drives inflation, where it's heading and what it means for investors.
It’s helpful to think of inflation in terms of the old adage, too much money chasing too few goods. But don’t let the simplicity of that statement fool you: the factors that influence the flow of money and the amount of goods (and services) produced are vast, and we have limited our discussion to three broad topics.
A permanent change in the age structure of a population — its demography — can alter patterns of consumption, saving and investment. It can also affect the size of the workforce and its skillset, the rate of productivity growth, and the way in which income is distributed between labour and the owners of land and capital.
Globalisation has come a long way fast, but the process has slowed. On the basis of the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom Index, more than 98% of the world’s population has lived in a capitalist society since 2005, up from just 30% in 1985 (figure 9).
The elusive relationship between jobs, wages and prices.
If falling dependency ratios and globalisation have eroded workers’ bargaining power in advanced economies, is there still a link between a country’s employment conditions and its rate of inflation?
